U.S. & Russian crew return to Earth from ISS

STORY: A U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts bid farewell to fellow crew members aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday before boarding a capsule for their return to earth.

NASA’s Mark Vande Hei, who had completed his second ISS mission, logged a U.S. space-endurance record of 355 consecutive days in orbit, surpassing the previous 340-day record set by astronaut Scott Kelly in 2016.

Vande Hei smiled and waved as rescuers removed him from the capsule and medics checked his vital signs.

Russia's space agency chief wrote on Telegram, "The crew is feeling good after landing."

The flight -- carrying Vande Hei and Russians Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov had been closely watched to determine whether escalating tensions between the two former Cold War adversaries on Earth had spilled over into longtime cooperation in space.

U.S. sanctions on Russia included high-tech export restrictions aimed at degrading its rival's aerospace industry. Russia's space agency chief responded that his country would no longer supply or service Russian-made rocket engines to two NASA contractors.

NASA, for its part, has said that U.S. and Russian ISS crew members were well aware of events on Earth but were working professionally together without tension.

The three who returned Wednesday were replaced by three Russian cosmonauts who joined the ISS earlier this month, joining three Americans and one German in orbit.